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CitySquash team member Alex Lorenzo was recognized as a 2019-2020 U.S. Squash High School All-American, becoming the first CitySquasher to achieve this honor. One of 44 other high school players to receive this honor for 2019-2020, Alex qualified through his senior season with Mercersburg Academy in the Mid-Atlantic Squash Organization. Alex has played in the top spot on the Mercersburg ladder for the past two years and served as a Captain for both his junior and senior seasons as well. This year, he helped lead his team to a second place finish in Division V at High School Team Nationals. He started playing squash in the 6th grade when he joined CitySquash and quickly fell in love with the sport, attending as many extra practices as possible to improve his game. With CitySquash, he is a two-time Urban National Champion. We look forward to seeing Alex suit up for the Connecticut College Camels next year and realize his goal of becoming a college squash player. Congrats, Alex!

Alex with his Mercersburg team after coming in 2nd in Division V at HS Nationals this year!

Alex with his CitySquash teammates after winning the High School Boys Division at SEA Team Nationals this year!

Extracurricular clubs have become a staple of CitySquash’s normal programming, and clubs offered have included Art Club, Music Club, Game Club and more. When CitySquash transitioned to virtual programming as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, two of our dedicated mentors, Stephanie & Ali Butera, came up with a plan to continue offering clubs to CitySquash team members virtually! With the help of Ali and Stephanie, mentors to Malika (7th grade) and Stephany (6th grade) respectively, we have been able to add Activity Club to our weekly schedule, and continue to provide team members with a creative outlet during this difficult time. Stephanie & Ali help plan easy, arts-based DIY projects on a weekly basis that require very few materials so all team members can participate at home. Projects have included making fortune-tellers and origami figures. A portion of Activity Club is also dedicated to thanking those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis. Students have written thank you letters to workers at City Meals on Wheels who are continuing to deliver food to the elderly, and to doctors and nurses at Jacobi Medical Center. See below for photos from Activity Club and a huge thanks to Stephanie & Ali Butera for making Activity Club possible!

CitySquash team member Caleb Boateng received the US Squash Junior Sportsmanship Honorable Mention Award for the 2019-2020 junior squash season in the BU17 division. Caleb was one of 20 juniors recognized across all divisions for displaying outstanding sportsmanship throughout the season.

Caleb joined CitySquash in 2011 as a 3rd grader, and is currently a sophomore at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT. The level of sportsmanship, respect, and love for the sport that Caleb shows at every practice and match has always been an inspiration to his younger teammates. When asked to define good sportsmanship, Caleb shared, “good sportsmanship in any sports is playing the sport. At the end of the day, it’s not about what your opponent does, but it’s you against the ball.” Caleb added, “Sportsmanship is important to me because I know that others watch how everyone acts on court, and my behavior on court reflects not only myself but also my family and CitySquash. It’s important to keep your composure and set a good example for others, especially for younger players.”

CitySquash is thrilled to congratulate Caleb and his family on this great accomplishment!

Picture above: Caleb on his way to a CitySquash practice at Fordham University

The weekend of March 6th-8th, 70 CitySquash team members traveled to New Haven to compete in the SEA Team Nationals, held at Yale University and Choate Rosemary Hall. Organized annually by the Squash + Education Alliance, the tournament brings together programs from across the country. After an exciting weekend of match play, the CitySquash team advanced to the 4 out of the 5 championship finals, and ultimately took home 3 championship titles.

Congratulations to our Elementary School Team, our Middle School Boys Team and our High School Boys Team for bringing CitySquash’s tally of SEA National Titles to 110. We are also proud of 8th grade team member, Jasmine Rodriguez, who won the Middle School Academic Contest for her essay on how squash has impacted her life.

Below are some highlights from the weekend. Thank you to our hosts and everyone for making memories like these possible for our team members!

If you would like to see more photos from CitySquash from SEA Team Nationals, please Click Here.

Pictured above: The High School Boys Team (L to R) of Yoskart, Alan, Alex, Jesse, and Caleb was all smiles after defeating StreetSquash 4-1 in the Championship Final!

CitySquash’s Elementary School Team took home top honors for the second consecutive year.

CitySquash’s boarding school students traveled home to compete in the tournament for the first time! Brianna (Rectory School ’20) and Angelina (Loomis Chaffee ’23) caught up with Bronx teammate Dalia between matches.

The winning Middle School Boys Team was coached throughout the weekend by CitySquash alum Will Pante, who will graduate from Fordham University later this spring.

Middle School team member Jasmine with her Academic Contest trophy!

The Middle School Girls’ Finalist Team (L to R) of Ashley, Diana, Ariana, Chasity and Stephany fought hard throughout the weekend!

Our team members had a busy month of squash in February, training for and competing in Middle School Team Nationals in New Haven, CT and High School Team Nationals in Hartford, CT. Ten players traveled to New Haven to represent CitySquash and partner school, MS 45 at Middle School Teams. Our Middle School Boys Team finished 2nd in Division III and our Middle School Girls Team finished 4th in Division II. Both results were some of our best in recent years at Middle School Teams and we are proud to have had four players who went undefeated throughout the tournament weekend.

A total of 31 CitySquash team members competed in High School Nationals just a few weekends later. Fifteen of CitySquash’s boarding school students were in attendance playing for their schools’ varsity teams, and CitySquash had a boys and girls team representing our local partner high school in the Bronx, Bronx Center for Science & Mathematics. Congratulations to Millbrook junior Dainalee who helped her team capture the Division V Title and Mercersburg senior, Alex, and Loomis Chaffee freshman, Angelina, who helped their respective teams finish 2nd in Division V.

Congratulations to all of our team members for their effort and sportsmanship throughout these tournaments weekend, and thanks to all who helped make the weekends possible, including our generous tournament hosts!

On Sunday, October 27th we held our 9th Annual Black & Orange Day at Fordham University, our home base in the Bronx. Over 150 team members, parents, and mentors came together to compete in this indoor field day featuring squash, basketball, capture the flag and a memory challenge. The Black & Orange teams went head-to-head in the final competitions of a relay race and dance contest, with the Orange team coming out on top! Below are some photos and team members’ quotes about why they love this annual event. Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it a memorable day for the CitySquash team!

During the last week of August, CitySquash traveled to Lake Placid for its annual Team Retreat at Camps Monserrat and Holy Child. A total of 122 team members from the Bronx and Brooklyn, alumni, volunteers and staff traveled together, making it our biggest team retreat yet!

Participants were divided into 5 teams and spent the week competing in different events as part of the Cabin Color Challenge. Along with the team competitions, all of our team members completed one big day hike in the Adirondack region, participated in team-building activities and had the opportunity to swim. The final campfire where, following tradition, the high school seniors addressed all of their younger teammates and shared their advice and wisdom capped off the retreat.

Thank you to all of our supporters for making this possible for our team members and a special thank you to the Reiss Family for enabling this retreat to happen for the past 6 years!

If you would like to see more pictures from Lake Placid, please click here.

Last week, CitySquash held it’s annual Boarder and College Student Send-Off. The event brought together outgoing boarding and college students, their families, alumni, staff, and supporters to celebrate our student’s school placements and share advice on the road ahead. We were thrilled to have author Alex Tilney as a special guest, who shared an excerpt from his new novel “The Expectations,” a coming of age tale set at a squash powerhouse New England boarding school. Alumna Criselys Polanco also shared reflections and valuable lessons from her CitySquash journey. Thank you to Silvia Campo and David Hermer for hosting a wonderful evening. Congratulations to all our students as they take exciting next steps in their academic careers!

CitySquash team members, family members, staff, and volunteers headed out into the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan for the second annual CitySquash Serves day of community service! Wearing their distinct orange sunglasses, over 100 participants in total rolled up their sleeves across 6 service projects, including delivering meals to home-bound seniors, caring for trees in local parks, cleaning up Orchard Beach, and organizing a food drive for a local food pantry. Afterwords, groups reflected on their projects and impact before coming back together at Crotona Park for a celebration. Many thanks to all of our community partners, including the Bronx is Blooming, Citymeals on Wheels, The New St. John Baptist Church, Partnership for Parks, Van Cortlandt Park, and more.

“It felt good to be out in the neighborhood and help others,” reflected one of our 7th grade team members. “It was a really special day.”

It was another exhilarating weekend at the Urban Individual National Championships at Amherst and Williams colleges. CitySquash had 68 team members compete across 10 divisions — among 450+ players from 17 national and international Squash + Education Alliance programs — and came away with three overall titles! Our team also secured two 2nd place, one 3rd place, and two 4th place finishes. CitySquash has now won a record 107 Urban National Titles in its 17-year history!

Congratulations to Ashley Amaro (GU11), Lizbeth Barroso (GU15), and Caleb Boateng (BU17) for bringing home division titles. A special thanks goes out to all of our students and dedicated staff for their hard work, along with the Squash + Education Alliance for putting together another great event!